


Pearls Belong in the Ocean

by BlueMoonHound



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Human AU, Multi, Other, Steven Universe - Freeform, pearlmethyst - Freeform, rupphire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5899900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoonHound/pseuds/BlueMoonHound
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young scientist rejected from their family gets used to a new, liberal town.</p><p><b>THIS FIC HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.</b> I might rewrite it if I ever get back into Steven Universe. <br/>If you read it, I hope you found it enjoyable :p</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strangers

Perhaps it wasn't very considerate of her, but Amethyst had been watching the androgynous person with the star earring for the last month. They weren't a tourist-- or at least probably not-- as the season was over and they were still here, every day, at eight o'clock buying a large chai tea and sitting at the same two person window spot… Okay Amethyst had definitely been paying too much attention to this stranger.

They never bought breakfast. They never talked, except to order. They went to their seat and watched the boardwalk traffic. Their face was passive. They always wore the same clothing, a crisp shirt and tie, a pair of gray pants, and blue shoes.

Amethyst was watching the clock. Again. She hoped Sapphire wasn't paying attention, because there was probably something she could have been doing right then. Like usual, 8:00 on the dot, the person with the star earring walked through the door. They walked up to the counter and folded their arms across the bar.  
“The usual?” Amethyst asked. Usually she let them tell her what they wanted, mostly because Amethyst was afraid that the usual hadn't become usual enough.

They looked surprised. “Yes,” they said.  
“You come here a lot,” Amethyst decided to continue the conversation as she plugged the order into the register. “You new in town?”

“I got a job nearby, at – oh what do you locals call it – The Temple? About a month ago.”

“Really? The Temple? Isn't that the big honkin government facility down on the beach? Wow you must be like, really smart.”

“Well, I don't think my intelligence actually had much to do with it. It's more to do with drive. And the right masters degree.”  
Amethyst laughed. “I don't have either of those anyway.” Then she went to make that tea. One of the nice things about the shop was they carried a lot of loose leaf, which was nice and flavorful, but it also meant that Amethyst had to fill a new teabag for every customer. It didn't usually bother her, but right then it was distracting her from her conversation with the strange, new regular at the bar.

“Here's you're tea,” Amethyst said, handing them a big paper cup. “That's 2.50.”

“Yes, I know.” they laughed, handing Amethyst the money. “Thank you.”

Amethyst turned back to the cash register, expecting the person to go to their normal seat by the window and stare at the traffic like usual, but when she looked back up a minute later she found that they had taken the closest seat on the bar.  
“My name's Pearl by the way, what about you?” they asked.  
“O-oh, uh, Amethyst.”

Pearl laughed. “we're both crystals.”

“what?”

“Pearl and amethyst are both crystals. The gemstones I mean. Not us ourselves.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess they are.”

Pearl turned so they could see out the window and sipped their tea. Amethyst wondered what they were thinking about.

At exactly 8:30 Pearl left, wishing her a good day.


	2. Trouble Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl talks to their mother.  
> TRANSPHOBIA IN THIS CHAPTER.

Pearl's apartment was completely empty when they got home, as usual. Of course. Because they lived alone. It was still a little disorienting, though, to come home to this after so many years in a house with two sisters-- the younger of which was very, very noisy. And nosy.

Pearl threw their bag on the couch and wandered into the kitchen. The answering machine was blinking. They pressed the replay button and leaned against the wall.

A voice best suited to a nasal, angry secretary burst crackling through the speaker. “Pearl! Are you coming to dinner on Thursday? Mother wants all her daughters to be there and that includes you! Stop being such an annoying little shit an --” pearl clicked the delete button, then thumbed down to redial. They didn't feel like listening to their sister's rant twice.

“Hello?” The person who answered the phone had a smooth, low voice.

“m-mother,” Pearl said, “Hello, I just wanted to tell you that I don't intend to come for thanksgiving. And that you might as well not call me back.”

“I don't want to see you either, girl. Your sister insisted she try.”

“I don't want to talk to Chrys. Last time I saw her she almost killed me.” Pearl almost hung up right then, but curiosity kept the phone to their ear.

“It's your own fault,” silky and venomous as always. Pearl clicked the end button and threw the phone on the table.

Chrys tried too hard sometimes. For some reason, she felt obligated to bring Pearl back into the family as the 'girl' they had been before they had left. Chrys, Pearl supposed, wasn't really a bad person. Very naive, but just trying to do the right thing based on how she was raised. Pearl didn't have a lot of good memories from their childhood.

“Let's raise our kids so they don't have to recover from their childhoods,” pearl muttered, collapsing on the couch.

 

Pearl woke up at two in the morning. They were still on the couch. They groaned, sitting up, and looked around. The room was empty and silent. “dammit,” they hissed, running a hand through their hair. There was no point in sleeping any more that night. Not like they could anyway.

Pearl had started falling asleep after work a few weeks ago. Their sleep schedule was completely off now, but they couldn't think of a way to fix it, aside from not lying down. And the phone call hadn't helped, they were sure.

The ceiling shone with car lights from the window, flickering as they moved past. Pearl blinked and stood, running their hand through their hair again and going to their bedroom. Their binder was making their ribs ache.

Wearing a robe and boxers, Pearl fished out their computer and started working again. They couldn't do a lot of their own work away from the Temple but any kind of organization was fine for them and there was a lot of it. Some of the secretaries even left sorting in their inbox because they knew they liked it. Pearl didn't mind taking up their extra work for no pay, especially since it made such a great distraction. 

They needed to get a better distraction, though. This one wasn't going to cut it for long. They needed to do something... electronic. Something that wasn't in their job's description, but wasn't sorting either. 

Pearl shut out the world.

 


	3. Opal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst's family visits the bar.

Pearl arrived at the coffee shop right at eight, counting the number of days since they had eaten as they opened the door. They ordered a large chai tea from the nice girl Amethyst who worked there, and sat at the bar. Amethyst looked like she wanted to make conversation but was too shy. Pearl left her alone.

The boardwalk wasn't very busy today. A few people wandered up and down the planks, but as fall progressed it waned more and more. Pearl drank their tea and watched a couple walking in their direction. 

Pearl sighed. Amethyst's family seemed so close, so happy, Opal was such a sweet child… Despite their stark differences-- Sue's ridiculous, showy ripped t-shirt next to Donna's full pantsuit and bow tie-- they weren't arguing, they were laughing. Pearl couldn't remember a part of her childhood that was that pleasant. They turned away from the spectacle and focused on their drink.

They felt alone.

“Hey P!” Amethyst called. Pearl looked up from their tea in surprise. “Come meet my family!”

Pearl hopped down off the barstool and walked over, trying to act composed. Their heart was beating too fast in their chest and their ribs were still aching from wearing the binder for too long. They straightened their back and smiled.

“Hello, I'm Pearl,” Pearl said, holding out a hand.

“Sardonyx,” Donna said, taking the hand and giving it a small shake. “So how do you know are little Ame?”

“I frequent the shop, I suppose,” Pearl shrugged.

“Lmao,” said Amethyst, saying the acronym like a word, “they're here every day at exactly 8:00 sharp.”

Sue laughed, hard and low. “haha, I'm always late. Name's Sugilite. Nice ta meecha.”

Pearl blinked. “Hello.” They sipped their tea and failed miserably at not being akward for the next ten seconds.

“What's your family like?” Amethyst asked.

Pearl's face went cold. The ache in their ribs deepened and they grimaced. 

Amethyst frowned. “Sorry...” She looked concerned.

Pearl attempted a smile. “It was nice to meet you.” They downed their tea and headed out of the bar.

 


	4. Bar Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl ignores their problems.

Garnet ordered her third beer and Amethyst groaned. “You know that's not a good idea,” she said. “remember last time?"

"I'm older than you, Amethyst."

"A-and I could get Ruby, then you would be in SO much trouble. ”

“Just give me the beer.”

When Amethyst returned with Garnet's beer, she was talking to a newcomer sitting on the next stool over. They had an undercut and a star earring… they were strangely familiar.

“Pearl?”

Pearl looked up, their blue eyes wide. Amethyst blushed. “Pearl, you're never here at night.”

Pearl seemed to shrink back in their skin. Garnet took the beer out of Amethyst's hands. “Thank you,” Garnet said pointedly, taking a sip. Amethyst blushed harder.

“sorry.” She paused, glancing at Pearl. “Do you, uh, pearl do you want something to drink?”

“Beer, please.” Pearl dropped a handful of change in the tip jar and looked away again.

Amethyst got another beer.

“So why _are_ you here?”

Pearl shrugged.

Amethyst backed down.

Garnet giggled.

“Oh be quiet,” Amethyst hissed.

Garnet buried her nose in her beer, still laughing.

 

It was a Wednesday, so the shop was empty at eleven. Tonight, one person was still sitting at the bar, drinking probably their fifth beer. Pearl, hair and outfit ruffled, stared at the wooden tables behind the bar and looked forlorn.

“You alright, P?” Amethyst leaned on the bar. “Is this about this morning?”

Pearl shook their head. “It's not your fault, Amethyst.” Their voice was a tired gust of wind.

“You sure ya don't need to talk?”

“I'm fine.” Pearl finished their beer. “Could you close off my tab? I'm leaving.” They got to their feet, a little unsteady.

“Do you need a ride? You look a little tipsy..”

“I don't have a car, don't worry.” Pearl took back their credit card and left the shop.

 

 


	5. Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ame stops a fight.

Opal wrapped her little arms around Amethyst's waist and held on tight as she walked through the door. “Opal, shouldn't you be in bed?” Amethyst grumbled, pulling sticky fingers out of the pockets of her jeans.

“Special develepment day,” Opal giggled. “No school tomorrow and Sue told me I could get up!”

“Opal, you're five. You still need your sleep, even if you can say big words like development you still need to go to bed. Come on, let's go!” Amethyst picked her little sister up and carried her up the stairs to their apartment. It was a three-bedroom and Amethyst paid a quarter of the rent.

Amethyst put Opal down in her bed. “Night!” she said, walking out and shutting off the light. Opal made a few annoyed noises as Amethyst closed the door.

Amethyst was very tired. She had started work at seven thirty that morning and it was nearly midnight. Sapphire did pay her overtime when she worked like this but it was still hard. She slept through both her lunch and dinner breaks and was still tired when she got home. Her bed was very welcoming.

 

Amethyst woke in the middle of the night to something breaking in the alleyway behind the complex. She grumbled something about first floor apartments and pushed herself out of bed, walking to the window. Someone was leaning against the near wall in such a way that she couldn't see them.

There came a yell, the words themselves muffled by the window, and the sound of glass shattering. Amethyst fumbled with the lock on the window and shoved it up.

“What's going on out here?” she yelled. One of the people out the window ran away, and the other started to slide down the wall. A single bare foot came into clear view below her.

“Hello?” She pushed the window up farther and poked her head all the way out. She couldn't see very well in the darkness, but the light of the nearest streetlamp glittered on the buttons of a shirt crumpled on the ground, a pair of wide eyes, and a broken beer bottle. A thousand shards of glass scattered the ground.

“Yo kid, you okay?” Amethyst tried again. Still, there was no response. Heavy breathing.

Amethyst pulled her head back into her bedroom and closed the window, fastening it. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen on the way out the door and tucked it into the waistband of her robe, just in case. Armed with a flashlight, Amethyst padded out of the complex.

The alley was still very dark. One of the streetlamps had failed. She stopped to right a fallen trashcan- that must have been what woke her. A little farther down the alleyway she found her window. The person was still sitting there, leaning against the wall, holding a beer bottle at an awkward angle. They were wearing a pair of gray slacks and a single blue shoe…

“Pearl?” Amethyst hissed. “What are you doing here?”

Pearl flinched when the beam of the flashlight hit their eyes. They looked dazed, shaken, and sort of empty. Had they even made it home from the bar? What time was it? Amethyst took a step forward.

“Pearl.” She took the beer bottle from them. It practically fell from their grasp. “Pearl what happened?”

Pearl snapped back to reality. “I'm fine,” they said, still shaking.

“Are you sure?”

Pearl watched Amethyst for a moment. They started to stand up, one hand still firmly against the wall. “I'm fine,” they muttered, so quietly that Amethyst almost couldn't hear.

“Do you... wanna come inside and sit down? I can make hot chocolate...”

For a moment Pearl looked like they were going to refuse again. Then they slumped and nodded. “Alright.”


	6. Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl avoids questions.

Pearl stared at their hands. They were still shaking. Underneath them was an unfamiliar granite tabletop. Their wrists were ringed by brown folds of a too big robe. They tucked their hands under their arms and rocked back and forth.

“Are you sure you're alright?” Amethyst asked, putting a huge mug of steaming hot chocolate down on the table in front of them. Pearl took their hands out from under their arms and wrapped their fingers around the mug. They shrugged.

Amethyst pulled up another stool and sat down across from Pearl. She too had a cup of hot chocolate but it was much smaller. Pearl pulled the robe tighter around their chest self-consciously. While their ribs had cried in relief as soon as they had removed their binder, Pearl was very uncomfortable sitting in a stranger's house without it on. They supposed Amethyst wasn't really a stranger, but they didn't know her well.

“Hey, what were you doin out there anyway?” Amethyst's voice was a lot softer than Pearl had ever heard it. She sounded worried.

Pearl shook their head. They had been drunk and hadn't wanted to go home. They were going to just sleep outdoors… They didn't remember their own reasoning.

“shit,” Pearl hissed.

“What?”

“I have work tomorrow.”

Amethyst looked taken aback. “Tomorrow's Saturday.”

“I work six days a week right now. I can't afford to work less.” They sipped their hot chocolate and tried to hide the tremor in their hands.

“You sure you're up to that?”

Pearl began to laugh. _As if,_ they thought, their body shaking. They hiccupped as the laughter dissolved into tears, and then they took a deep breath, put the chocolate down, and whispered “I need to sleep.”

Amethyst frowned. “what are you gonna do?”

Pearl shrugged. “I don't want to let my boss down. I have to go.”

“Couldn't you call in sick?”

Pearl paused. They supposed they could, but they had their sick days planned already. They tried to remember what their next day off was but their brain wasn't working very well. They shrugged. “I ...suppose.”

“In the morning?” Amethyst asked. “You can stay here if you don't want to go home.”

Pearl chuckled. “I don't even know where I am.”

“Fair enough.”

Pearl sipped their hot chocolate.

“you can, uh, sleep on my bed.” Amethyst blushed. “I'll sleep on the couch… I can sleep anywhere.”

“I sleep on the couch most nights anyway,” Pearl said.

“Sleep on the bed, Pearl.” Amethyst's whole face was red. “I'll just… grab some blankets.”

Pearl finished off their hot chocolate while Amethyst was in the other room.

 

Amethyst's room was very messy. On their way in through the dark, Pearl tripped over at least three hard, miscellaneous objects. They collapsed on the bed and fell asleep almost as soon as their head was on the pillow.


End file.
